Role-playing games with Slavic and Scandinavian mythology have been very popular in recent years. The interest in this mythology has increased a little more with games such as the fantasy tactical role-playing game The Banner Saga that reached large masses. The Yaga also takes Slavic mythology as its theme. However, with its entertaining narrative style and its story that changes with each gameplay, Yaga manages to distinguish itself from its counterparts. It is not possible to make the same positive criticism for the action side of the game. Let's take a look at Yaga, developed by independent Romanian developer Breadcrumbs Interactive.
Platforms
Nintendo - Nintendo Switch - PC - PlayStation 4 - XBox One
Pluses
+ Fun storytelling
+ Characters
+ Dialogue Selections
+ Replayability
Cons
- Superficial RPG elements
- Battle Mechanics
- Weak Animations
Yaga, where we control the one-armed blacksmith Ivan, who is haunted by bad luck, greets us with an opening that comes out of a fairy tale book. So if we said fairy tale books, it's not just a word. Yaga really starts off like an animation, with storytelling reminiscent of a fairy tale book or a cartoon. I'm talking exactly a world where there are kings, witches, evil spirits, talking trees, talismans. When introducing our character, I said Ivan, that bad luck does not stop. Not to mention, Ivan, the one-armed blacksmith, is indeed under the influence of bad luck, or rather the curse. For this reason, he is expelled from the village where he lives with his grandmother. Thinking that the curse on Ivan will destroy the village, the Tsar kicks his ass and kicks him out of the village. On one condition, Ivan will be able to return to the village. Ivan must get help from Baba Yaga and get rid of his curse. However, reaching Baba Yaga will not be so easy.
Yaga is a game that tries to combine role-playing elements and hack and slash genre in the same pot. The number of characters you will interact with in the game is quite high. We can also get various missions from these characters we encounter on the Yaga's open map. When we communicate with the characters, we encounter dialogue options. It's entirely up to you to mistreat a character, be nice, give a political response, lie, or bargain for a product or item. This made the dialogues and story progression more lively and fun. We can talk a little about an RPG "sauce" here.
The role-playing part of the game is felt most in character development, weapon types and talisman dynamics. The one-armed Ivan has a rebound hammer that can be used as a weapon. However, this situation does not create a disadvantage for Ivan in battles. Ivan can turn his single arm into an advantage thanks to the prosthetic tools he wears on his arm. For example, we can use a lasso-like device we wear as a prosthetic arm to advance faster or to attack enemies from a distance. We can increase the hit power of our character with various enchanted weapons. Talismans that cause additional damage and stun on the enemy and provide instant shocks also bring variety to the action part of the game.
Especially the enemies that come in large numbers can make you very difficult in the battles. However, although a certain variety has been introduced in the fighting part of the game with various talismans such as weapon variety and lightning strikes, you cannot enjoy the action of the game much because the feeling of hitting is very weak. The fact that the animations of both our character Ivan and the enemies look very ordinary and loglike plays a big role in this. Boss battles, which are very difficult to defeat unless you apply different strategies, are one of the outstanding good aspects of the game. Do not try to fight a Boss without developing your character sufficiently.
I would say that the randomly generated map of the Yaga is open to exploration. When you take Ivan, who leaves the sheltered forest and plunges into the uncanny forests, in the opposite direction of your destination, you are usually rewarded with a valuable item that will be of use to you. You can also use these items to craft a weapon or as barter material. You can save money by doing a quest for a non-player character, or you can discover new items wherever you go for the quest. For example, finding a farmer's lost magic sheep can bring you unexpected benefits. Such mini-quests helped diversify the storytelling of the game. Since the basic logic of Yaga works with the equation risk=reward, riskier missions can also have bigger rewards.
One of the most unique aspects of the Yaga is that you completely determine Ivan's fate. The choices you make in the story progression and the dialogues you make with the characters you meet affect the story progression. Whether Ivan chooses a brutal, bland or peaceful life is up to you. This greatly increases the replayability of the game. I can say that Yaga's storytelling is fun with its often used dark humor elements and its moments that make you smile. The fairy-tale world attracts a lot of attention. However, the main deficiencies, especially in the action part, are also striking.
